While Rachel was asleep, Chloe and I went back inside and sneaked out all the photos on my desk. We went back to her car, driving off and sitting inside, now in the parking lot of Kate's apartment. As I was trying to hold all of them in my lap and my hand, I called Kate on my phone to help us with putting the place together.

"You're sure you want Kate to help?" I asked one last time.

"Yep, I know she could help. Somehow, but fuck, I need help." Chloe nodded. "Plus, you need to spend some time with her too."

"Thank you for thinking about that." I meant that genuinely, but the tone sounded borderline sarcastic. This is gonna be huge. I don't blame her for wanting all the help she can get.

"Hey Max." Kate greeted. There was a slight tiredness in her voice, but she also sounded happy.

"Hey, Kate," I perked up, clearing my throat to get ready for the question, "I would hate to bother you, but we need your help with something."

"Sure, what do you need?" I could hear her move around, like she was getting out of bed and some voices in the background.

"Well, Chloe needs a little help with... making a gift, for Rachel and it's kinda a big project. We were wondering if you have time today to help us and maybe some other stuff?"

"Oh, sure! Let me just get ready."

"Uh, we're already here."

"Pardon?" Even she was surprised.

"We had to get away from Rachel! It's a surprise for her! We're not being creepy or anything—"

She started to laugh, causing a weird fluttering feeling to happen in my stomach. "You're not. I'm going back to my room, so let me treat you to breakfast."

"No, Kate, you don't—"

"I insist!"

I sighed, putting down the photos on the car floor. "Okay, we'll stand by your door."

After hanging up, Chloe and I got out and went to the door. I nearly knocked on the door, but then I remember that Victoria and maybe that other girl was still inside.

"Dude, why the fuck am I nervous?" Chloe was trying to pace around and rub her hands together.

"You're proposing, Chloe. That's a big deal!" I grabbed her arms, shaking her a little. "You're gonna marry Rachel Amber!"

"Holy shit." It was like she just realized what was going on and why it was happening. "Fuck, I'm freaking out!" She grabbed me and shook me around back, "Max, I'm losing my shit!"

"Don't! You'll be okay! We just have to set up!"

We heard footsteps coming down the stairs, making Chloe and I let go and try to act natural, but from the way Chloe was rubbing the back of her neck and how she was circling around, she was still clearly nervous. I kept repeating "you'll be okay" to her until I saw Kate come around with her bag in her hands.

"Hey Kate!" I waved to her and approached her. "Do you need help with that?"

"No, thank you. What were you two yelling about down here?" She took out a lanyard with a couple of keys on it.

"Nothing!" We said in unison as she passed in between us. I gave Chloe a confused look and she gave one back to me, like "what the fuck, why did you say that too?!" We followed Kate as she unlocked her front door and opened it cautiously. She opened it enough to peek her head in and looked from side to side, then walking in.

"How was sleeping at Ledah's place?" I asked as she placed her bag on her couch, then tying her hair up. We went in and sat on the couch, Chloe, of course, took the longer seat of the sectional.

"It was nice. Luckily, I couldn't hear them from up there. I think they're just happy they could be here. I'm sure she mentioned she can't talk about her with her own group of friends Actually, I've met her for a club once and she's much more hipster than what you saw, but I think the hipster is more... her?" Kate was in the kitchen and all I hear is her talking and metal clinking together. "I don't know, but maybe she took Victoria on a date that involved a skateboard."

"I would pay to watch that bi—her fall on her face." Chloe's smile grew to her ears, into an almost sinister grin, though it was softened by her correcting herself.

"Like you never took Rachel to a skate park and tried to show off." I murmured under my breath.

She shushed me right away. Long story short, she nearly broke both of her legs trying to impress Rachel.

"I'm sure she did fall and I could picture it in my head, but I don't want to laugh about it."

"Why not?!" Chloe stepped her foot down.

"She's my roommate, and if I thought and laughed about it once, I will laugh about it every time I see her face." A whistling noise started to go off; she was making green tea. "Would you guys like a mug?"

"I'll take one." I said, raising my hand.

"No, thanks." Chloe waved her hand.

"She's... not nice, but she could be nice if she wanted to. You guys know that already." She came back with two mugs, handing me one. "Would you like anything, Chloe?"

"Ah, no, I'm not... that hungry."

"Are you okay?" Kate asked her as she sat next to me.

"Yeah! Why wouldn't I be?! I'm fan-fucking-tastic!"

Kate sipped and looked to me, eyebrows raised like she was waiting for an explanation from me.

"Uh, she's just happy to have Rachel around again! A-and she's mad that we didn't get any cake pops for you this time." It was a horrific lie, not a believable one at all, but Kate nodded.

She chuckled, "It's fine. I've eaten enough, I think I need a rest, right?"

Eye contact felt so weird. There I was again, looking into hazel and shining irises as I melted to hell as a puddle of Max. I cleared my throat as I took a huge gulp of my tea, even though it was burning my throat.

"But, uh, how was the kiss?" Chloe abruptly asked.

As Kate laughed, blushed, and then looked at me, I was choking to death of hot leaf water and I couldn't look back at her. Is she talking about the one in the dark?! What is she doing?!

"I hated catching her by surprise like that, but I was really happy to see her."

"So, if you were to, you know, maybe kiss on the lips—"

"Chloe."

"Come on, it's harmless!"

Kate cocked her head to the side, "Are you implying more for touch or taste?"

Again, I choked.

"Either one." She was enjoying this too much.

"I'm guessing she feels nice? She's mentioned you two have kissed before. Maybe you could describe it to me. However, I have a feeling she would taste like coffee."

Chloe lifted her brow. "Well, she did live on coffee for her first quarter, I wouldn't be surprised if that stuck with her."

She laughed again. Light, bubbly, making my heart jump out of my chest.

They were talking to each other like I wasn't in the room! Like, yeah, I know, my blood stream was practically a coffee stream with cells in it, but don't say it aloud.

"Would you do it, though? Like, actually kiss her."

"With her consent, of course." She looked to me again, taking another sip. I dunno what to do. My heart was racing and my hands were shaking so much, tea might spill on the ground. Oh my dog oh my dog oh my dog

She turned back to Chloe, "So, what's the gift for Rachel?"

"Oh, you know, just to welcome her back!" That was also a horrible lie. "I love her, so I just want to do something special. Max took enough pictures to help with that!"

"How exciting! Do you need help setting up or what do you need help with?"

"Uh... finding a place to set up?"

"Did you come up with this yesterday?"

"... Yeah."


After finishing our cups of tea, we drove out to a place Kate mentioned. It was one of her friend's mom's, a warehouse a few blocks away from the studio we were in for Rachel and Chloe's photoshoot, and it might be perfect. It used to be a museum with multiple rooms and halls, so we might stick to it. I held onto the photos, stacks in my arms but also between my feet as Chloe drove.

"You don't think your friend will mind?"

"I don't think so. It's just used whenever they have parties and we used one of the rooms for a scene in the film. It didn't make it into the final, though."

"Well, we might need to reserve it for a week... maybe two... or a whole month." Chloe tapped her fingers against the steering wheel.

"It's fine! I'll just tell her."

When we arrived at the warehouse, it was similar to the studio: bland-colored building, lots of trees, and it was more wide than it was tall. The difference was instead of an address, it was a "for lease" tarp sign. All three of us were side by side as we walked towards the building.

"Can we... can we just walk in?" Chloe asked. As she was asking that, Kate was on her phone and trying to call her friend. "It's a beautiful space. I'll just call her."

We put the photos down and waited for Kate's friend to answer her call. Chloe pulled me to the side.

"I'm about to lose my shit." She said through her teeth.

"Deep breaths." I grabbed her shoulders.

"This sucks, why am I proposing again?!" Her voice gradually went down to a hushed whisper-yell.

"Because you love her! Why are you freaking out now?"

"I dunno! I guess I figured out that this is a huge fucking deal!"

"Um, hello—"

We didn't realize that Kate approached us, trying to get our attention with her phone in her hand.

"I'm sorry, Kate. Did you get your friend?"

"Yes, she's on her way over to give me the key. Are you sure there's nothing wrong, Chloe?"

"I'm okay, fine!"

"It's normal to feel nervous for making something for someone you love." She smiled endearingly. She meant well, I could tell, but Chloe was resorting back to shy teenage self, which was a mess of a person, I've heard from Rachel.

"Right..." Chloe rapidly nodded her head.

We waited a good thirty minutes before Kate's friend, one I recognized from the party, showed up, handed her a key, and then left. We left the photographs in the car and went into the building. Light brown, shiny floorboards, white walls, bright theatrical lights in the ceiling, big rooms, and smaller hallways into the next showcasing room—it was too perfect. My mind was already running for ideas and the gears were turning.

"Wowser, this place is awesome, Kate." I couldn't stop staring.

Before we all walked into the next room, Chloe's phone started going off, the call that let everyone on Earth know it was Rachel. She didn't say she had to leave or excuse herself, she just left. It left Kate and I to admire the place.

"You know what this reminds me of?" She asked.

"No, what is it?"

"When we went out for the first time," she said, so happy and smiling so big, "the museum we went to. I don't know, something about the layout."

"I see what you mean. Do you know what would make this more like it?"

"No, what?"

I offered my arm. Naturally, she came over and grabbed it, hugging it and then we walked slower. We could hear our shoes tapping into the floor and Chloe's talking. For some strange reason, I wanted to ask her about something. Maybe it was something about the kissing thing, maybe it was how she is, but it was about her.

"Can I ask you something?" I brought up, my voice wavering at "ask."

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

"How have you been?" I stopped us in the middle of the second room, turning to look at her. "I dunno, I'm not thinking anything bad or something, but—"

"It's fine, Max, you don't have to apologize." She touched my face. I barely felt her on my cheek. "It's okay. I mean, getting by is difficult. Flashbacks would come back to me often. It didn't matter where I was; they happened. On some days, I feel anxious and I didn't trust anyone. Other days, I feel depressed and I can't stop crying. It's like it's still happening, even when I tell myself I'm okay."

"I-I'm sor—"

"What did I say about apologizing?" She touched my face again, this time with both hands, gently rubbing her thumbs on my cheeks. "Max, you've done so much for me. You saved me… like my own guardian angel. No need to say sorry."

"No matter what happens, you're still Kate. You're still that girl that caught me kicking a vending machine, hitting my forehead against a table, and was scared to drink from the same cup as you." I ended with a sigh, lifting my hand up to press it over hers.

"You guys good?" Chloe had come back. "I know it's like hella echo-y and romantic, but this is my romantic gift. Go get your own."

Her comment made us laugh, but I knew that she was just coping with her feelings with making fun of us.

We spent another ten minutes of looking around, also finding a garage door and back door to the alley. This place couldn't be more perfect. I promise you, Rachel, you're gonna lose your mind over this. We left the photos in the place, next to the door, and then went back to Kate's apartment.


"Want to walk me to the door, Max?" Kate asked as Chloe parked.

"Yeah." I unbuckled and got out, walking next to Kate to her door.

She then hugged me and I hugged her back, both of us sighing like tension was finally released.

"Since you asked me something," she pulled away, but one hand was still on the side of my neck, "I want to ask you something."

"O... kay." Dog, that question made my body shut down every time. It didn't matter who was saying it.

"Are you free tomorrow?"

"U-uh, yeah, I could come by." My hands were becoming clammy and sweaty.

"Perfect, we'll meet tomorrow afternoon, on the curb?"

"Is it important?"

"To me, it is. So, promise?" She stuck her pinky out.

I dried my hand on my pants and hooked my pinky with hers, "I promise."